Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-10-28
THE SUPREME EFFORT
IN BEHALF OF THE CONDEMNED MEN
AT CHICAGO.

stoned Plea for His Clients and Attorney
state-Pith of the Arguments of the Two
Advocafes-Ben Butler on Hand.
WASHINGTON CITY, Oct 2S-There was a
large audience in the supreme court chamber
Thursday awaiting the commencement of
argument in the Anarchist cases, which, to
the sgust of those who went early, did not
begin until past O'Clock p m. short dis
cussion took place as to the time to lie al
lowed counsel, and Gen. Butler informed the
court that he was there the counsel of two
of the Anarchists, and though he would not
speak for the mere sake OF talking he did not
want to be hurried. He suggested that one
and a half hours apiece he given each of
two speaker on each side, which sug-
gestion was adopted by the court and was
satisfactory to the other counsel The argu-
ment then begun, Hon. j. Randolph
Tucker opening for the condemned men
He said that it was not necessary for him
to show as a condition precedent to the grant
ing of the writ that the action complained of
in the court below was actually repugnant to
or in violation of the constitution it was only
necessary to show that conflict had arisen
that there was a question whether the action
complained of was not repugnant to the con-
stitution. That enough to give this
court jurisdiction. 1t was the object of the
statute of 1867 TO give free access to this
court in all cases where there was question
of this kind 1t was not necessary to show
repugnance, but only conflict If there is
conflict then this court has jurisdiction, and
if it has jurisdiction then the petitioners are
entitled to the writ as right.
This court, " said Mr.. Tucker, "is city of
refuge from the avenger of blood, and any
man who comes here and takes hold of the
horns of justice should not be repulsed." The
policy of this court, he said, had been to deal
literally with petitions for writs of error in
civil cases. How much more should it deal
literally with petition for a writ of error in
a criminal case involving the issues of life
and death-in a case where life was about to
BE- taken away in violation OF the constitu
ton.
The main contention of counsel for the
Anarchists, as brought out in Roger A.
Pryor's argument before the court the other
day, and MIR. fuckers opening argument, is
that by the Illinois juror law, and by the
action OF the Illinois court, the Anarchists
We're convicted of a capital offense without
due process of law, contrary to the guaran-
tees of the fourteenth amendment to the con-
stitution; that due process of law implies and
requires a trial by an impartial jury, that
the Illinois statute makes competent Juror
with preconceiyed and present opinion as to
the guilt of the accused; that it is not, there
fore, due process of law" but a process which
abridges the privileges or immunities of citi-
- al 4
| cused 'the right to trial by an impartial
jury" and is, therefore, unconstitutional
Attorney General Hunt, of Illinois, in his
brief submitted to the court, and by his oral
argument opposed the granting of the writ
Of error and replied to these points He in
sisted that to warrant the writ it must ap-
pear from the record that there is federal
question involved, and that such question
was raised and decided in the state court
He deni-d that these conditions were met
| The record did not show that any federal
question is involved The prohibitions, he
contended, contained in the first ten amend
ments to the constitution are limitations on
the powers of the federal government and
not upon the states, and so far as the An
archists rely upon anything contained in
those amendments they can have no stand
ing in the supreme court of the United
States
The Fourteenth amendment, he argued.
was equally foreign to any right privilege
or immunity claimed by the petitioners.
That amendment declared that: mo state
shall make Or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citi-
zens of the United States, nor snail any state
deprive any person of life, liberty or proper
ty without due process of law. nor to deny any
person within its jurisdiction the equal pro-
lection of the law" But the record showed
that the complaint is not that the state has
made or is enforcing law which deprives
the petitioners of any of the privileges or i'm
| munities guaranteed by that sec
ton, but that they are deprived
of rights by an erroneous construction OF
the law, placed upon it by the trial court of
the state. They did not claim in the supreme
court at Ottawa that the Illinois jury law
was repugnant to the constitution, treaties
or laws of the United States, nor that the
authority Of the state supreme court was ex-
erclsed under it, but that the law was valid
and that the court exercised its power il
violation of that law. The Anarchists were
tried III the courts of the state, under the
laws OF the state, and that constituted "due
process of law" Due process of law" meant
in accordance with the laws of the land
Coming to the question of the competency
of the Illinois juror with preconceived opin-
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laws were in force in a number of the
states. The position into which We would
he lrIVap nv counsel on the Othar side who